Check it out, I'm still breathing
by Missy Tea
Summary: I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go, where the wind don't change, and nothing in the ground can ever grow, no hope, just lies And you're taught to cry into your pillow, but I survived! A collection of one-shots, inspired by my weird music taste!
1. Chapter 1

**A.N: So I realize this is quite similar to my other fic The Life and Lies of Effie Trinket, but I can't bring myself to care.**

 **Songfic, to the song 'Alive' by Sia.**

 **No copyright intended, just having a little fun.**

 **A.N2: This site hates me, and somehow managed to lose half of the bold. GRRRR**

* * *

 **I was born in a thunderstorm  
I grew up overnight  
I played alone  
I'm playing on my own  
I survived**

You could say that Effie Trinket was born in the middle of a storm. Not your usual thunder, lighting, wind and rain storm, as it never ever rained in the capital. No, Effie was born into a storm of emotions.

Later her parents used to joke that Effie always had to be in the centre of attention, and that was why she was born the way she was. She just had to arrive with a bang.

It had been during an argument. Her mother was in a foul mood because Effie's father had missed yet another appointment with the doctors, and Darla Trinket was getting more and more terrified as her due date got closer. It hadn't been the easiest pregnancy, and the closer it got the more aggressive her mother got with everyone around her.

What wasn't known then, was that Effie's father was in the middle of a rather large business deal at the time, and was also prone to flying off the handle. It had finally all come to a head, and doors had been slammed, voices had been raised and they were now standing at the top of the stairs, hurling insults at one another when suddenly her mother had stopped, and had announced very quietly that she believed her water had broken. They had barely gotten her to the hospital when tiny Effie had made her appearance.

She had been what people would call a very good baby. She never got sick, hardly ever cried and smiled prettily at those who came to meet her. She could hold an average conversation with any adult by three, was dressing herself by four, reading by five, wearing make-up by six, heels by seven, donating to the Games by eight, attending 'adult' parties by nine and appearing on television by ten. She never had time to make any close friends, only the odd person to wave to if she saw them in the street. It only struck her how lonely she really was when she went to bed at night, and realized she had no one to tell her stories to.

 **Hey**  
 **I wanted everything I never had**  
 **Like the love that comes with light**  
 **I wore envy and I hated that**  
 **But I survived**

High school hadn't been easy for her. By the time she reached her final year she was well known as the model, TV personality, and child star. One would have thought she would automatically be popular. After all, she had access to all the designers, all the Victors, anybody who was anybody really. But because she often had to miss school or leave early to attend some event or the other she still didn't have any friends.

They all wanted to be her, but no one wanted to play second fiddle to the great Effie Trinket. She wasn't bullied, exactly, but she certainly wasn't made to feel welcome. By the time the year end dance came along Effie was the only one who didn't have a date.

It would have been so easy to call one of her connections and whip up someone famous to go with her. She would be the envy of everyone else in the room. But Effie found herself staying home for the first time in years.

It surprised everyone in finishing school that Effie had developed a crush on Haymitch Abernathy. He was a victor from a few years back, and one of the few that Effie hadn't had the privilege to meet as yet.

Perhaps she liked the mystery that surrounded him, how he was there for the games, and then gone again like a thief in the night. He never attended the victory ball like many of the other victors did, and he did as few parties as he could.

Maybe she liked the danger he seemed to extrude. He was a Victor, a seasoned killer that had been known to fly off the handle after a few too many drinks.

But in actual fact it was none of these things. It was his eyes. Not the colour, or the shape, or even the lashes that surrounded them, but the sadness and loneliness that seemed to shroud them. She recognized the similarity every time she looked into the mirror. He might have been a flame that threatened to consume everything in its path, but she was the moth that was drawn to the light, not realizing that it might kill her.

 **I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go**  
 **Where the wind don't change**  
 **And nothing in the ground can ever grow**  
 **No hope, just lies**  
 **And you're taught to cry into your pillow**  
 **But I survived**

It was really no surprise that out of all the girls in finishing school that Effie was the only one to be made an Escort. She would do a year under Winter Willows, district Twelve's current escort, and then she would be on her own. That first year Effie stayed in the capital as Winter attended the reaping in the district, and worked on drumming up sponsors. She watched the reaping on television, watched as Winter smiled at the people who so obviously hated her, watched as the Mayor was lead onto the stage, followed by Haymitch who proceeded to be sick over Winter's shoes. She heard the commentators remark that this was fast becoming Haymitch's party trick, and that Winter must be glad that she was retiring at the end of these games.

Winter's hand shook as she pulled her final two names. A strong looking boy and a frail little girl. The camera's followed them all to the station, both children crying, Winter looking straight ahead and Haymitch trailing behind pausing to make obscene gestures in the direction of the cameras.

Effie met them all at the Capital station. It was now her job to get Haymitch looking vaguely presentable in time for the press conferences later that evening. Within moments of meeting the man, Effie was deeply regretting the posters she had bought, the fascination and the hours she had spent defending him at school. The man was an arsehole. No other way to put it. She quickly learnt to loathe him on sight, as he did with her.

Their games were over surprisingly fast. The girl had tripped running from the Cornucopia and had been taken out by a knife to the back, and the boy died from exposure a few days after that. When Effie returned from the lobby where she had been trying to convince a sponsor to support them, Haymitch had already left. Winter was drinking, a bottle of tequila on the table next to her. She looked u as the elevator doors slid open and took in the sight of Effie standing there, her eyeliner running from her tears, her nose red and her arms wrapped around herself.

"Don't cry, doll. At least not where they can see you."

"Don't call me doll." Effie said "they used to call me that at school."

"I'll call you doll, because that's exactly what you are." Winter had replied "at least to them. Until you get old, and even a needle can't fix you anymore. Then you're not even that."

Before Effie could reply, Winter had gotten up and walked surprisingly steadily into the elevator, leaving the half empty bottle of tequila on the table. She gave a slight smile as the elevator doors closed and Effie never saw her again. **  
**

**I'm still breathing**

Thirty four tributes

 **I'm still breathing**

Seventeen games

 **I'm still breathing**

Eight Stylists

 **I'm still breathing**

One mentor **  
I'm alive**

Hundreds of parties

 **I'm alive**

Seventeen Victors

 **I'm alive**

Twelve Districts

 **I'm alive**

One Escort

 **I found solace in the strangest place**  
 **Way in the back of my mind**  
 **I saw my life in a stranger's face**  
 **And it was mine**

She could never pinpoint exactly when it started. After all, she had learnt to hate the man that was Haymitch. But somehow, over the years they had started to comfort each other. It had started with her handing him a drink when it all went south. Laying a hand on his shoulder as he got lost in his own memories. Him squeezing her hand before she stepped up to reap the next two children. His hand on the small of her back when someone decided to stop her at a party and inform her how very dramatic the death of one of their tributes had been. Him hearing her cry and somehow unlocking the door and drawing her into his arms, whispering for her to breathe, it would be okay. Her turning over, and seeing the sadness reflected in his eyes. Her reaching up and pressing her lips to his, sighing into his mouth as he returned the kiss.

He left that year, before it could go any further. But the next year, after both their tributes were dead, he found his way to her bed again and this time he allowed her to undress him, to kiss his scars and to give herself to him completely. He took what she had to offer, and returned it and for the first time ever, Effie felt what it was like to be alive.

But it was dangerous, so very dangerous. The thick make-up started to hide the bites and bruises he left on her neck, and slowly spread to her face creating a mask. In time she became two people. His Effie, and the Capital's Effie. **  
**

**I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go  
Where the wind don't change  
And nothing in the ground can ever grow  
No hope, just lies  
And you're taught to cry into your pillow  
But I survived**

It never got any easier, and within time Effie succumbed to sever depression. She hated herself, hated the way she lived, hated the man she loved. One year, after he had left she had tried to end it all. She never knew how the bottle of sleeping pills ended up in her bedside drawer but they did and she swallowed them all, several at a time. An Avox found her, and she ended up in hospital having her stomach pumped.

She was sent to a therapist, who pulled her out of the games for the following year. They never really made progress, as Effie was too terrified to tell the woman everything. She too was a capital puppet and Snow did not need to know who Effie was sleeping with.

When she returned to the games the following year, Haymitch had dragged to his room and had his way with her so possessively that she began to wonder if there was a chance he might love her too. The year after that, Katniss Everdeen volunteered, and everything changed.

 **I'm still breathing**

Hours of pleasure

 **I'm still breathing**

Twenty Sponsors

 **I'm still breathing**

Four broken people

 **I'm still breathing**

Two loves **  
I'm alive  
** One inspiration

 **I have made every single mistake**  
 **That you could ever possibly make**  
 **I took and I took and I took what you gave**  
 **But you never noticed that I was in pain**  
 **I knew what I wanted; I went out and got it**  
 **Did all the things that you said that I wouldn't**  
 **I told you that I would never be forgotten**  
 **And all in spite of you**

When the Quarter Quell rolled around and she found out that she would be sending her Victors back into the arena, Effie had made up her mind. She started wearing gold, she listened at keyholes for any details of the rebellion and had worked in her quiet way to make sure the plans would not be foiled. Haymitch didn't know it, no one knew except for Cinna, but Effie was slowly but surely declaring herself a rebel in full sight of President Snow.

They had been in the lobby when the Arena blew up, and the screens went black. She had turned away from the television and made her way through the crowds to where he was watching the clock carefully, a drink clamped in his hand. When she reached him, she glanced at the clock and noticed it was five past midnight. She took his drink off him and downed it in one go, before placing the empty glass on the table. She then wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him down to her level and kissed him. It wasn't a simple kiss, it was tongue and teeth and him lifting her off the ground. There was silence as the crowd took in that capital darling Effie Trinket, currently had the drunken mentor's tongue down her throat.

"Go." She told him as they separated.

"Come with me." He said

"I can't" she answered. He stared at her for a moment before nodding reluctantly. She waited until he had left, before allowing the grin to take over her face. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and strode out through the back door. It took the peacekeepers another eight days to find her and arrest her.

 **And I'm still breathing**

A million memories **  
I'm still breathing**

Over a hundred beatings **  
I'm still breathing**

Over fifty electric shock sessions **  
I'm still breathing**

Days without food or water. **  
I'm alive**

Ten rebels coming to her rescue **  
I'm alive**

Five days in a coma **  
I'm alive  
** four mental breakdowns **  
I'm alive**

Three Victors

 **I'm alive**

Two dead presidents.

 **I'm alive**

One survivor.

One love.

One rebel.


	2. Summer Time Sadness

**_So I've decided to turn this into a collection of Oneshots. Most if not all will based on my crazy selection of music, but they won't all be Songfics. I hope you enjoy._**

 ** _Song this was based on was 'Summertime Sadness' by Lana Del Rey. It's probably been done before, but oh well._**

"Kiss me hard before you go." Effie whispered seductively in his ear. He shifted slightly on his seat on a small foot stool and nodded. The whiskey in his hand was still as full as it had been when he poured it an hour ago. He didn't dare drink it, not on a night like tonight when everything rested on his shoulders. Effie straightened up and fixed him with an annoyed stare, and he studiously ignored her. It was hard, knowing that if he just turned his head, he'd see her eyes, the brilliant blue eyes that had taken him years to realize he'd never get out of his head, alight with amusement. Yet at the same time he knew that he'd also see that glimmer of fear, reflecting that in his own eyes. With a huff, she flounced off, joining one of her Capital friends and turning her back on him. He took a moment to eye her figure, before shaking his head and focussing on the matter at hand.

It was eleven thirty at night, yet the lobby of the training center was as packed as it had been in the morning. A sense of excitement had filled the air slowly over the course of the day, the people of the capital gathering to debate the outcome of this year's games. Haymitch couldn't help but think to himself _if only you knew._ Tonight was the night when everything would change, when the rebellion would either burn throughout the country or go up in smoke. Their plan was so fragile; too many links that might be convinced to spill the beans, too many times and schedules that needed to be carried out to the letter or it would all fall down, too many risks involved. Yet, it was the only plan they had, and should it succeed the world as they knew it would cease to exist. It was daunting in a way, to even imagine a world where their children could grow up safely, with enough food in their bellies and without the fear of being reaped to go into the Hunger Games. It made him dizzy when he paused to think about it.

Yet underneath, the anxiety refused to stop bubbling. The fear of making one mistake. One mistake that could ruin it all, cause them the loss of not only their lives, but half the populations lives as well. Still, they had made it this far and planning a rebellion right underneath the President's nose was not something many wouldn't have even considered never mind accomplished.

Effie let out a laugh at something one of her capital friends had said, and drew his attention to her once again. It was not the deep belly laugh that he had grown to love about her, but rather a mere tinkle of a laugh, one that she always used at capital parties. The careful one, that he had learnt was as fake as her pink eyelashes. When she truly laughed joy seemed to bubble out of her, until everyone around her couldn't help but laugh as well.

He marvelled at the way she could blend into any circumstance. Looking at her, blending in perfectly with the rich wives of the Capital's top business men, eagerly discussing fashion and gossiping about other wives who weren't in attendance while their husbands retreated to the sides of the room to drink Scotch and make handshake deals when they thought no one was looking.

Watching her, no one would ever guess that she was the one that had scheduled the lightening strike, scheduled the hovercraft, fed information back to them by sweet talking President Snow's personal assistant. She had risked her life more times than any of them would ever know.

He glanced at the clock, and saw that it was almost time to leave. Katniss and the rest were fast making their way to the lightening tree and the seconds were ticking by. It was time for him to head up to the roof.

Effie watched him leave. He slipped through one of the side doors, so quietly and quickly that no one even noticed he had gone. He was tense. She could see it by the set of his shoulders, the drawn lines around his eyes. He hid it well, burying it all under his signature scowl. But she knew him. She knew him better than anyone else alive. He usually pushed everyone anyway, not just people from the Capital, but anyone who got in a six foot radius of him. It amazed her that she, the angel of death, the ultimate Capital puppet, had been the one to break down his walls enough that she knew what he was thinking just from the set of his shoulders or the cruel smile that sometimes twisted his features.

Effie turned back to her conversation with Ava Berrymore. She had completely forgotten what they had been talking about, something that she had never had much interest in, but she listened attentively as her friend finally wound down before excusing herself to use the ladies. As soon as she had escaped into the elevator she quickly removed her heels and the majority of her make-up. She wouldn't need it anymore, and Haymitch always loved it when she was fresh faced and petit. The elevator doors opened, revealing the beautiful gardens on the roof and the starry night sky. Haymitch was waiting, wearing a heavy coat, boots and his beanie pulled down low over his forehead. This had always been his favourite place in the Capital. It was the only place where something natural existed. It was the only place that seemed to have a breeze, the only place that wasn't covered in bright and unnatural colours and lighting. It had become their spot, the place where they could be honest with one another without hiding behind their respective masks. Effie had been most put out last year, when he had shown their place to Peeta. When she confronted him, he had simply replied with

"Everything is a lie in his life at the moment. Let him have a small piece of beautiful honesty before we have to send him to his death."

Effie had never mentioned it again.

"You look beautiful." Haymitch said in a rough voice, eying her up and down. "Except for the wig."

Effie rolled her eyes, and reached up to remove it. With a few deft movements, she had dispensed with it, and the clips that held her natural blonde curls in place, allowing them to fan out over her shoulders. The red dress she wore was longer, and a little less capital than she usually wore. Cinna had designed it. It was one of his last creations before he was captured, and he had taken inspiration from before the dark days. It was made of a plain cloth, bright red in colour and draped over her one shoulder before wrapping around her curves. She looked dangerous in it, but at the same time she looked more at peace than any of the other Capital woman downstairs.

"Dance with me." She said, holding out her hand "dance with me like you did at Johanna's victory ball."

He smirked and took her hand, pulling her gently into his arms.

"That was the night we first slept together." He remarked with a smirk

"Oh hush"

"That was the night I realized that I loved you." He added softly. Effie drew back slightly to look at his face. She traced the curve of his jawbone with her finger tips, letting them hover over his lips for just a moment. She didn't know when she had fallen in love with him. Part of her believed that she had always loved him, and that's why no one else had ever been good enough. But how to put that into words?

"I know." He murmured, reading her mind and pulling her close again "I know."

"What time does the Hovercraft arrive?" She asked softly, fighting the tears.

"Any minute now." He answered

It had been Effie who had figured out that the Forcefield that prevented the Tributes from hurling themselves off the edge of the building surrounded them, but did not cover them. A hovercraft could go high enough to go over the forcefield and land quite safely on the roof. Yet at the moment she wished she hadn't. It hurt so much to have him leave her, here, in this garden.

She could go with him. He had begged her to go with him to Thirteen. But she had refused. She would remain here to keep Snow and Peacekeepers busy. She was the distraction. He hated it.

"Don't forget me." She found herself saying. "I can withstand anything they do to me, if you promise that."

"I could never forget you Effie." He answered "You are my life. I hate the fact that you're staying here."

"It'll be okay."

He nodded reluctantly, but before he could reply the sound of the Hover craft reached their ears. He looked up briefly, before cupping her head, and pressing his lips to hers. The kiss itself was intense, possessive, and yet so Haymitch. She could taste the whiskey on his lips; feel the scratch of his unshaven face on hers. He was holding her to him like he would never let her go. She was dimly aware of the Hovercraft landing next to them, of Plutarch waiting by the door, but neither of them seemed to care. It was only once Plutarch had shouted a warning that he finally let her go.

She stepped back as he climbed aboard the Hovercraft. She considered doing a three fingered salute, but decided against it. This was not a goodbye. Not if she had anything to do with it.

The wind from the Hovercraft blew her hair out behind, reminding her that she had dispensed with everything that was capital. She walked slowly to the edge of the building and watched as it disappeared into the night sky. She had just lost sight of it when she felt the cold edge of the Peacekeeper's gun press into her back. With a sigh she turned to face them, her red dress matching the rebellious fire that was burning through her.

 **Please review if you have a spare moment!**


	3. Dirty Love

**Hellooo again. This chapter is just a bit of drabble really, based on the song 'dirty love' by Cher Lloyd. It's a little risqué, so no young uns! Below is a 'sample' of the lyrics.**

 **You're always so nice, I'm getting bored  
You say the right things, I'm getting bored  
And you always call first, I'm getting bored  
Yeah, I'm getting bored**

 **So sick of the good boys, I need a wild boy  
Something unpredictable  
Go ahead and be a caveman  
Give me all your dirty love  
No time for the right one, I need the wrong one  
Something unreliable  
Go ahead and be a caveman  
Give me all your dirty love**

It was perfect. Everything from the classical music that played softly in the background, right down to the snow white table clothes that covered the small tables. The candles flickered gently, creating shadows that danced across the silver cutlery, and the single white rose on the table added the perfect touch of elegance. Effie should be in her element. She was dressed to the nines, her blue dress highlighting her eyes, her face carefully made up, her corset so tight that she could barely breath, the pain of it reminding her with each breath that she had made it, she had become the envied one. Her date, a tall, handsome man was dressed in a tailored black suit, the charming smile on his face enough to make any sane woman melt.

Instead Effie was bored to tears. She couldn't explain it. Her date was lovely, a real gentleman, everything her mother had told her to look for in a man. He was interesting too, a man who had actually _done_ something with his life, unlike many other men in the capitol, who were all more than content to inherit their father's business and chuff along as though nothing in the world _mattered_ apart from the perfect bubble of the capital.

Instead, Effie couldn't get a different man out of her head. What was worse was that it wasn't even a nice man. It was quite possibly the most uncouth man in the whole of Panem. God alone knows how she even ended up in this mess.

Actually, that wasn't quite true. It had started, like many other things, with a handful of berries. And a glass of whiskey. Possibly two. She was trying very hard to forget it, yet the only things she had succeeded in forgetting were the tiny superficial details that meant next to nothing to anyone. The bits that she really wanted to forget kept replaying in her head in vivid Technicolor detail. The clash of their teeth, The sharp pain when he had yanked the wig off her head, the delicious sting of when he had bit down on her neck to keep himself from crying out, the bruises on her back from where he had slammed her into a door, the half moon marks on her thigh from his nails when he had gripped her too hard, his anchor in the storm.

But there was more than that. More than the anger. The fear. The passion. There had been a moment, a moment before he had kissed her to shut her up, and another one just as they finished before his walls went back up, and his clothes were hastily put to rights again. A moment when she had looked into his eyes, the plain grey eyes of someone from the seam, and had had a moment of clarity. It was different, looking into the eyes of someone without a mask. It had been a gaze of heat, pain and understanding. A gaze of brutal honesty. It had made her come down to earth with a resounding crash. Things weren't perfect in the world. Life hurt. People were suffering. Her entire life was a lie. But it suddenly she had found a piece of herself that had been missing, a piece she hadn't even realized was missing. All in the arms of man she had been taught to despise.

They had barely seen each other since. They had both been run off their feet organizing the following interviews for their two victors, and as soon as it was all over she had seen all three of them to the train station. She had kissed the kids goodbye and smiled for the cameras, and by the time she turned to face him he had already boarded the train, without so much as a 'see you next year'.

She supposed that now they had three victors he wouldn't even have to come up for the games. He would need to make an appearance at the victory tour, and then he would never have to set foot in the capital again. She should be gleeful about that. No more insults, no more fighting, no more agonizing screams in the middle of the night.

So why. Why why why? Did she have such a pang of longing whenever she thought of him? Why did her world seem to get a little darker when she realized that she might never see him again? It just didn't make sense! She was the escort of not one, but two victors! Her life could not be anymore perfect.

She couldn't explain why, after a perfectly lovely dinner, her date had kissed her, and she had let him. Not because she wanted to, or because he made her toes curl, but because she felt obligated to. But there was nothing there. No spark. Not even a hint.

Effie was a sexual being. She liked sex. At one part of her life that was all she lived for. Yet with this man, this wonderful, gentle, charming man, all she could do was lie back and wait for it to be over. The only time when she had felt something, a tiny fission of excitement, was when the man's hands had ghosted over the bruises on her thighs and she was reminded of a pair of strong callused hands gripping her there weeks before. She couldn't explain why when this man whispered her name so lovingly, she remained dead inside, but when Haymitch, she might as well call him by his name, the name she had cried out over and over until her throat was raw, had called her terrible names her whole body seemed to burn. It wasn't normal. In fact one could even call it insanity.

In the end she faked it. She had never had to fake it before, she was fairly easy to please in the bedroom, even she had to admit that. So she called out, and did all the things she supposed she should, and when her date finally slid off the top of her she rolled onto her side and pretended to be asleep, feeling an odd sense of disgust as his sweat dried on her skin.

When she woke up the next morning, he was gone and she was left with smeared make-up, old perfume and a feeling of self hatred.

Six months later she was boarding a train to District twelve, the camera men and prep team alongside her. She spent the journey seated by the window, staring out as the capital buildings faded away to open fields before slowly turning to forest, and then to the dark grey buildings marred by the coal dust that would never leave. When she got off at the station she scanned the crowds for a familiar face, one with long shaggy hair and a smirk on its lips, but instead she was only met by the usual stares of loathing and disgust.

Carrying her head high, she made her way to the victor's village, gabbling away to the prep team in her usual capital manner, hoping like hell they wouldn't realize just how uptight she was. She met with Peeta first, the only person in the whole of this godforsaken district that had ever had any time for her. She noticed that his family was not living with him in the huge home that was now his own. She spent a little time with him, making sure he was as alright as he could be given everything that had happened, before making her way across the road to Katniss's and suffering her less than tepid warning. She waited until Katniss was safely in Cinna's care, before bracing herself and making her way over to Haymitch's. It wasn't the first time. She always had to get him up and ready to go before a reaping, so why should the victory tour be any different? Yet when she opened the door to let herself in he was already dressed, leaning against the doorway to the living room.

"I wondered how long it would take you to get here Princess" he commented, taking a swig of the dark liquid in his glass, before placing in on the side table and striding towards her. Within moments he had her pressed against the front door, his leg pressing between her thighs, his lips possessive against hers. For the first time in the last six months, Effie finally felt something. Pleasure, pain, possessiveness, and something that felt a little like love.

It finally made sense. Effie was tired of safe. She was tired of gentle. She didn't want a gentleman. She wanted the aggressive, dirty love, of District twelve man.

 **Please review if you have a chance! All prompts and suggestions are more than welcomed!**


	4. Have a night that you'll never forget

**Just a bit of fun based on the song "Sure be cool if you did" by Blake Shelton. Its very AU, and its a younger Hayffie than we're used to. Please review if you have a spare moment (you too guest reviewers!) also, feel free to leave a prompt if you so desire. I have a chapter of Glitter and Grease almost ready to go, for those of you who have asked.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Haymitch was having a pretty good evening as far as evenings in the capital went. He had boarded the train early this morning from district twelve and had climbed off the other end with no screaming Capital birds, bright flashes going off in his face, or judgemental looks. He was simply a man getting off a train. It made a nice change.

From there he had headed to the training center, dumped his carryon in the lobby with strict instructions to send it up to level twelve and had promptly gone off in search of the nearest bar. He knew they were probably searching his bag right now, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Inside were a change of clothes and a half finished bottle of white liquor he had bought from Ripper before getting on the train. He couldn't care less about the clothes and the liquor, well there was better liquor to be had in the Capital anyway. Granted, the price of one of the drinks in the Capital could probably feed a family from the Seam for a month, but being a Victor Haymitch didn't have to pay, and the alcohol allowed to forget momentarily about the children in the Seam.

The bar he had managed to find was dimly lit, offering him a touch of anonymity, something that was rare in the capital. It was also fairly empty, given that it was hard to be the center of attention in the half dark. He was settling down to drink until the sun came up, when a high femine voice spoke from next to him

"Excuse me? Is this seat taken?"

Haymitch turned and was met with the sight of a woman standing there, her hand resting lightly on the stool next to him. Without realizing what he was doing, Haymitch allowed his eyes to rake up and down her body. She was thin, but still had a curvy waist, something the skin tight dress she was wearing emphasized. Her six inch heels made her seem a lot taller and leggier than she really was, and her honey blonde hair hung in loose curls down her back. She had a light shade of lipstick on, and perhaps a little eyeliner, but nothing like the bright paint that everyone else seemed to favour. In short, she was not the type of girl you would expect to meet in a bar in the Capital.

The woman blinked at him and tilted her head. With a jolt Haymitch realized that she was still waiting for an answer.

"No." He said gruffly and then amended "I mean, no it's not taken. Please sit"

The woman flashed him a beautiful smile, before sliding onto the stool next to him. She dumped her clutch on the bar in front of her, a raised a hand to get the bartender's attention.

"A raspberry martini please." She said, and lightly drummed her nails on the wood while the bartender poured. When he slid the drink in front of her, she quickly downed it in one go, and immediately asked for a refill. Haymitch watched in fascination as she did this three times in a row before deciding to speak.

"If you're looking to get drunk, might I suggest something a little harder?"

"You may not." The woman replied "this is the hardest cocktail they've got, and everything else tastes disgusting. Plus its pink, and pink makes everything better. "

She half turned to face him and shot him a half smile.

"And why is a beautiful woman like you, looking to get drunk all alone?" Haymitch asked. There was something about this woman that intrigued him, in a way that no one had since his games. He had no idea why, but something made him want to keep her talking.

"Beautiful" the woman snorted into her drink "I haven't even got my face on, and my hair is a mess. You must be drunker than you think."

"Perhaps I just have different taste."

The woman turned completely to face him, ignoring the next drink the bartender had slid in front of her

"I expect you do." She answered "you're not from around here are you?"

Haymitch shook his head

"I'm from district-" he started to say and then stopped. If he said he was from twelve she would know who he was, and he was enjoying chatting to a perfect stranger in a bar. "one. "He answered.

District one was the only district where the citizens were permitted to enter the capital occasionally. All the others you either had to be a Victor or the Mayor.

"You don't act like a Capitalian." She remarked, seemingly satisfied with his answer. She stuck out her hand for him to shake "Effie Trinket. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Haymish." he replied, shaking her hand

"Just Haymish?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Haymitch nodded and she shrugged "What an old fashioned name. Well, just Haymish, to answer your question I am sitting here drinking myself under the table because I have had a terrible day. My favourite pair of shoes broke, my apartment got flooded by the neighbour above me, and my boyfriend broke up with me because I'm getting fat."

Haymitch allowed his gaze to take her in again. She certainly was not the thinnest girl he had ever seen, because in district twelve most girls were starving, but one could hardly call her fat.

"He said that I had legs the size of treetrunks, and no one would ever fancy me. Not really a nice guy in the end was he? Oh god." She said, clamping her mouth shut with a hand, before smiling a rueful smile. "I have no idea why I'm telling you all this. What must you think of me?"

Haymitch thought she was adorable

"I think your boyfriend is an idiot." He answered. There was a beat of silence before Effie laughed and patted him on the shoulder

"You are sweet." She pronounced "what brings you to the capital?"

"A business arrangement." Haymitch answered. It wasn't really a lie. He was here to meet his new escort, after chasing the last one away after the last games. He had been going through them rather fast of late, and it was fun seeing how far he could push each one. "I'm here to meet a new partner."

"Well, if its Remus Flickerman, you can tell him from me that he's a cockroach, and that I can still get into the dresses I wore in highschool, unlike the slut he's probably holed up with now."

"Flickerman?" Haymitch repeated "any relation to Caeser?"

"His older brother." Effie informed him, sipping her drink "looking back, perhaps I should have dated Caeser instead. He at least is famous."

Haymitch privately wondered if she had been drinking before she ended up next to him in this tiny bar, but quickly cast the thought aside. He was hardly one to judge, when he was permanently drunk and had been matching her drink for drink since she's arrived

"Ah well, at least dating Remus got me a job. Not the one I wanted, but close enough. New job, new shoes , new start. What do you think?" Effie asked, peering at him.

"In a few years time he'll wonder why he ever let you go." Haymitch answered, indulging her "and he'll be as jealous as hell because he let you go."

"No he won't." She said bitterly "he'll only be jealous if I screw someone else, and who would ever want to screw a girl with tree trunk thighs?"

Before he could stop himself Haymitch heard himself reply

"Well I wouldn't mind."

And before he could even think about what he had said, she had leant forward and kissed him. He could taste the sweetness of her drink on her tongue, and her expensive scent seemed to fill his nose. She was everywhere, holding him captive, her nails digging into his shoulder. Without meaning to, he was kissing her back. Eventually she broke away, grabbed her purse, threw a few bills on the counter, before sauntering off, and for reasons unknown to him, Haymitch followed her.

"We're both very drunk." He told her once they had left the club and were walking fairly fast along the side walk

"Why do I get the impression that's ever stopped you before?" Effie asked with a smirk. She was right, it hadn't. She came to a sudden halt and faced him "my place is still very damp from all the water. Where are you staying?"

Well shit. He couldn't exactly tell her he was staying at the training center, without her figuring out who he was.

"I'm er, actually staying with my business partner. He's quite touchy about me bringing home girls, so er perhaps we could go to a hotel or something?"

Effie was no longer listening. Instead she was striding off, towards an alley that led round the back of a store.

"No need." She said "this will do."

Haymitch followed her a few meters down the alley, until they were both sure they couldn't be seen from the street. Suddenly Haymitch felt a bout of nerves. He had slept with someone for over five years, ever since his games. Thankfully President Snow had known better than to try and whore him out, but he wasn't sure if breaking the drought in a back alley with a Capital girl was the best thing to do. Effie leant against the wall and watched him

"Stop thinking" she said sharply "don't make this complicated. Its just two strangers, who have had a little too much to drink, who are going to have some fun and then forget about each other in a day or too. Alright?"

Haymitch opened his mouth to reply, but before he could she had yanked him closer by his jacket and had kissed him.

"Please Hamish." She whispered "make me forget."

And god help him, he did.

* * *

Effie woke up the next morning in her apartment with a pounding headache, and a terribly dry throat. She groaned, and got up to get some water, trying her best to ignore the pile of wet towels she had left in the corner from mopping up yesterday. With a start, she noticed the time and swore loudly before scrabbling to get dressed. She was supposed to be meeting the man she was supposed to be working with this coming year this morning, and she had every intention of looking the part. She had never even seen him. The year he had won his games she had been in hospital after over dosing on diet pills. For some unknown reason, the facility she ended up in had been exempt from the mandatory viewing of the games. After that, he had kept to himself, staying out of the Limelight as much as possible.

She had heard that he could be difficult, aggressive at times and a drunk. But Effie was sure she could handle it. After all, half the capital were closet alcoholics anyway.

By the time she made it to the lobby of the training center she was the picture of confidence. Her wig was in place, her make-up so thick that no one could see the hickeys on her neck, and her corset so tight she could barely breathe. She was met by Seneca Crane, who told her she looked lovely and proceeded to stare at her for the next five minutes, while they rode up to the twelfth floor .

Effie was unprepared for when the elevator doors opened to reveal a man wearing crumpled clothes, with shaggy blonde hair and a glass in his hand. It was the man she had screwed last night, in an alley, while very drunk. She wanted to bolt

"Effie" Seneca said "this is Haymitch Abernathy, and you'll be his escort for this year's games. Haymitch, this is Effie Trinket."

Haymitch looked up from his seat and promptly dropped his glass and Effie's life changed forever.


End file.
